Earth

Intro  Space Wiki Advertisement Space Wiki Earth Earth Mosaic00001 The Earth Date of Discovery Antiquity Atmospheric Makeup 78% nitrogen, 20.5% oxygen 0.9% argon 0.04% carbon dioxide Distance from Sun 150 million km 93 million miles 1 astronomical unit The Earth is the third planet from the Sun. About 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered in salt water oceans, and the remainder consists of continents and islands. There is significant interaction between the Earth and its space environment. The relatively large Moon provides ocean tides and has gradually modified the length of the planet's rotation period. A cometary bombardment during the early history of the planet is believed to have formed the oceans. Later, asteroid impacts are understood to have caused significant changes to the surface environment. Changes in the orbit of the planet may also be responsible for the ice ages that have covered significant portions of the surface in glacial sheets. Advertisement History Earth history refers to the development of planet Earth and covers about 4.5 billion years—approximately one-third of the age of the universe, of the 13,700 Ma estimated since the Big Bang—from its formation to the present day. Continents ordered by size (landmass) Asia Africa North America South America Antarctica Europe Australia Trivia The largest ice sheet on Earth is located in Antarctica. The Moon is moving away from the Earth. Gallery Earth-Erde Triton Earth Moon Comparison Filecdn Download Pluto, Earth size comparison Moon Earth Comparison A-cg-earth-planet-spinning-into-the-night-with-the-cities-lights-being-shown-as-seen-from-space-as-they-revolve-into-the-dark-or-night-side-from-the-day-side eygdsvgsng F0000 As08-16-2596Z Earth and the Sun Earth and the Sun External links WikiSatellite view of Earth at WikiMapia USGS Geomagnetism Program Overview of the Seismic Structure of Earth PDF NASA Earth Observatory Beautiful Views of Planet Earth Pictures of Earth from space Java 3D E